Method of and apparatus for treating materials



Aug. 16, 1932. R c. KIVLEY METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING MATERIALS Filed NOV. 16, 1927 reamed Aug. -16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 my cmams may, or oaiz'l'aax. rumors, assrenoa 'ro wnsrnan nnno'rmc conrm, mcoarom'ran, or new Yonx, IN. Y. .a oonroaa'rron or new You lemon or an]: arraaarus FOR rmrme m'rnarns Application filed November 16,1927. Serial No. 233,729.

This invention relates generally to methods of and apparatus for treating materials, and more partlcularly to methods of and apparatus for weatherproofing materials such as textile fabrics employed as insulation for conductors in strand form.

Objects of the invention are to provide amethod of roducing treated materials of uniform qua ity and size and of pleasing appearance, and to provide a simple,"efiective and economical apparatus for practicing this.

method.

' In one embodiment of the invention, a rub- 1 her insulated wire covered with a fabric insu- 16 lation is conveyed through an impregnating tank where the fabric is impregnated with a impregnating material in a molten state.

suitable weatherproofing compound. The.

impregnatedfabric is then coated with a second weatherproofing compound and'is passed :0 into a cooling tank containing water and through a series of rolls submerged in the water which effect a simultaneous compacting and polishing action on the coated material. After the wire is conveyed through the cooling tank, it is-wound upo'rfastorage reel where it may be stored until used.

A clear understandin of the invention may be had from the fo owing detailed description of one embodiment thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating that embodiment, and in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation partially broken away of'an apparatus for weatherproofing material;

plurality of sheaves orming a part thereof; Fig. 3 isan enlarged sectional view taken on line 3-3 ofFig. 2;

taken on line 44 6f Fig. 2 is ,an enlar ed detailed view of a.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged-transverse vertical.

Positioned within the tank 13 are a plurality of standards 1616 upon' each of .which is 00 pivotally mounted one end of an arm 18 havmg a grooved roller 20 rotatably secured up,- 1 on the opposite end thereof. When posxtioned; as shown in Fig. 1, the arms 18-18 I rest upon lu 21-21 formed u on the stand- 66 ard 16-16, ut the arms may rotated by means of arms 22-.-22 extending laterally therefrom into the position indicated by dotted-lines for one of the arms in Fig. 1,in

which position the ends of the arms 18--18 70 nearest the standards 16 -16 are in ,contact with the lugs 21-21 and the center of gravity of the arms and the rollers mounted thereon is in each case on the side of the ivot point of the arms 18-18 opposite that the grooved rollers 20-20 have been rotated.

A wipingroll 24 is rotatably mounted at the end of the tank opposite that upon which the sheave 12 is mounted and a companion w1ping roll 25- is rotatably mounted upon an arm 50 26 which is pivotall mounted near the roll 24 so as to be urge bya spring 27 toward the roll 24, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

Positioned adi'acent the tank 13 is a second as I tank 30 provide with suitable heating means, such as a steam pipe 31, for maintaining a weatherproofing com ound contained in the tank in a molten condition. A sheave 32 partially submerged in the weatherproofing compound is rotatabl secured within the tank 30 in alignment with the grooved rollers 20-20 and the wiping rolls 24 and 25, while an arm 34 is ivotally mounted at one end within the tan 30 and is urged downwardly b means of a wei ht 35. The arm 34 is provided with aslot 3 (Fig. 2) in which a small sheave 40 is adjustably positioned in proximity to the sheave 32, and a sheave 41 is adjustably positioned in a slot 38 in the arm 34in 100 om which is pivotally mounte water, into the tank. The weir 46 has a slot 50 (Figs. 4 and 5) formed therein which is covered by a piece of sheet rubber 51 having a circular opening 52 formed therein in alignment with the sheave 32 in the tank and 15 havinga slot 53 extending from the opening 52'to' the'upper side of the sheet 51 to permit the insertion of the insulated wire into the opening 52. Drain (gripes 55-55 are provided a't'the opposite en of the tank through so which theliquid flowing over the weirs 46- and 47 may be conveyed through basket strainers 56-56 into drain compartments 57-57 provided with drain pipes 58-58 and havlng screens 59-59 positioned therein as over the drain pipes 58-58.

Rotatably positioned within the tank 45 adjacent the weir 46- are a plurality of rolls 61-61 (Fig. 5) and a plum ity of'comp'anion rolls 62-62 are rotatably mounted in stag- 80 gered relation thereto upon an arm 63 pivotally mounted adjacent the rolls 61-61. A bolt 65 rigidly positioned within the bottom of the tank 45 extends vertically therefrom and a collar 66 mounted upon the bolt 65 co- 36 acts with a coil spring 67 to urge a hollow cylindrical member 68, upon which the arm 63 is 'pivotally mounted, in a downward direction through an apertured plug 70 threaded into the end of the cylindrical member 68. A lever 73 provided at'its u per end with a handle 74 and having a hook 5 formed u on the lower end thereof 5 upon the end of the arm 63 0 positethe end adjacent the cylindrical mem r 68 so that the hook 75 may coact with a flanged plate 76 to latch the rolls 62-62 in operative relation with the rolls61-61.

A sheave 7 Sis rotatably mounted near the exit end of the tank 45 for maintaining the wire beneath the surface of the liquid within the tank, while a sheave 79 is r'otatably mounted near the same endof the tank be- 5 yond the weir 47 for guiding the Wire over the weir. A ca stan 81 driven in any suit able manner, suc as by a pulley 82 and abelt 83,'is positioned near the outlet end of the tank 45 for drawing the insulated wire throu hthe tanks 13, 30 and 45, and a'takeup ree 85 driven by any suitable means, such as by a pulley 86 and a belt 87, is positioned .so as to receive the wire now covered with a weatherproof insulating material from the capstan 81.

cylindrical member 68, 46 a nut 71 threaded upon the end of the bolt serving as a stop to limit the movement of the drawnfrom the tank 13 by means of the arms- 22-,22 into the position shown by dotted lines for one of the rollers in Fig. 1, the tank 13 'is filled with a weatherprooiing com:

pound, such as a petroleumdistillate having 7 a fairly high melting point, to a level above the upper edges of the grooved rollers 20-20 when the latter members are positioned ,with in the tank 13, and steam is admittedir ito the .pipe 15 to melt the compound and retain it a weatherproofing compound which in its solid state is comparatively hard and lustrous and which may consist of any suitable materials, such as a mixture of Montan wax and a petroleum distillate havin a higher melting point than the compoun employed in the tank 13, and steam is supplied to'the pipe31 for the purpose erproofing compound and maintaining it in a molten state. The wire ered with a suitable fabric insulation, is threaded over the sheave and forth upon the grooved rollers 20-20 in the directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, is passed between the wiping rolls 24 and 25, and the rollers 20-20 are lowered by means of the arms 22-22 into the compound contained in the tank 13, the wire 11 meanwhile unwinding freely from the supply reel 10 to permit the wire to conform to the-altered position of the rollers. The arm 34 is raised, the wire threaded over the 12,. is wound-back in amolten state. The tank 30 is filled with of melting the weath- 11, which iscovsheave 32, and the arm 34 lowered to cause the smaller sheaves 40 and 41 to come into engagement with the wire. The arm 73 is rotated by means of the handle 74 so as to release the hook75 from engagement with rection, as shown in Fig. 5, to bring the rolls 62-62 into-enga ement with the wire 11 and the arm 63 is late ed by means of the hook 75 in the position shown in Fig. 5. The wire is finally threaded beneath the sheave 78, over the sheave 79, around the capstan 81 and onto the take-up reel 85.

' A cooling-liquid, such as water, is introduced through the inlet pipe 48 into'the tank 45 and the supply of the liguid is regulated so that a small quantity 0 the liquid will flow over each of thewveirs 46 and 47 in a continuous stream. Power is then supplied to the mechanisms (not shown) for driving the capstan 81 and the take-up reel. whereupon the wire ll will. be conveyed through the above described members of the apparatus.

Since the compound contained in the tank 13 is heated to a temperature above its melting point, the compound will be quite fluid and will penetrate into the interior of the fabric insulationrupon the wire as it is conveyed back and forth through the compound over the grooved rollers 20-20, and as the impregnated material is drawn -1rom the tank 13 any excess material is removed therefrom by t e wipin rolls 24 and 25. The

. sheave 32 is rotated by the frictional contact surface to coat the impregnated wire passing 'mersed therein.

thereover from the tank 13 with a substantial coating of the compound. The impregnated andcoated'wire is next conveyed into.

the cooling liquid contained in the tank 45 through the opening 52 in the rubber sheet 51 without first comm into contact with any of, the members of t e apparatus, so that none of the coating compoundv is removed therefrom before it has had an opportunity to be solidified by the cooling action of the liquid within the tank 45,. By the time the treated wire is conveyed into engagement with the rolls 61-61 and 62-62, the weatherproofing material upon the surface thereof has reached a semi-plastic stage and the rolls efiect a simultaneous compacting and polishing action u on the compound as it is conveyed there etween, the com ound meanwhile hardening due to the coo ing action of the liquid surrounding it. The treated material is maintained beneath the surfaceof the cooling liquid to completely harden the compound thereon during the remainder of v its travel through the tank 45 by means of the sheave 78, and as it emerges from the tank 45 it passes overthe sheave 79 Which causes it to clear the top of the weir 47. The treated wire then passes around the capstan 81 and is wound upon the take-up reel 86 where it may be stored until used.

By designing the supports 16-16 and the arms 18-18 upon which the grooved rollers 20-20 are mounted so that the rollers may be withdrawn from the compound contained within the tank 13, it is possible to wind the wire back and forth 'upon the rollers without the necessity of withdrawing the compound from the tank 13, or of retaining the compound within the tank and attempting to thread the wire over the rollers while im- The quantity of weatherproofing compound placed upon the surface of the impregnated material by thesheave 32 is determined by a number of factors, such as the size and shape of the sheaves 32 and 41, the tension on the wire and the speed of the wire and the arc of contact of the wire with the sheave 32. I With the other factors fixed, variations in the amount of coating may be readily produced'by varying the arc of contact and the desired arc may be obtained 'by a proper adjustment of the sheaves 40 and 41 within the slots in the arm 34. As will be readily seen from an examination of Fig. 2',

the-.arc of contact between the wire 11 and the sheave 32 will be greatest when the sheave 40 is ositioned atthe lowermost endof the slot 3 and the sheave 41 is positioned at the extreme right hand end of the slot 38 in the arm'34, and thatdifi'erent arcs of contact may be obtained by shifting the positions of the sheaves 40 and 41. within the slots 37 and 38 in the arm 34. In order to obtain the desired compacting and polishing efiect upon the weatherproofing compound, the force exerted upon the wire 11 by the rolls 61-61 and 62-62 may be varied b shifting the position of the collar 66'upon t e bolt to increase or decrease the pressure of the spring 67 uponthe plug 70 in the cylindrical member 68. Any pieces of the solidified weatherproofing compounds which are removed in the tank 45 are carried by the liquid flowing over the weirs 46 and 47 to the drain pipes 5 5-55 and are caught by either the basket strainers 56- 56 or the screens 59-59 from which the pieces ma be removed at intervals and salvaged.

y practicing the above outlined method and by employing the above described apparatus in practicing that method, materials such as fabric insulation employed upon conductors in strand'form may be rendered weatherproofin a. very simple, effective and economical manner and the resulting product is of uniform quality and of pleasing appearance. It is, of course, to be understood, however,

that the specific apparatus described hereinbefore is only one of a number of embodi-,.

ments of the invention and that various changes inthe dimensions and arrangements of the parts maybe made without departing from the scope of the invention as-defined in the annexed claims.

What is claimed is:

'1. A method of weatherproofing material,

which consists in coating a material with a weatherproofing compound, immerslng the coated material in water, and compacting and polishing the compound upon the material while the coated material is submerged in the water. 2. A method of weatherproofingmaterial,

which consists-in coating a material with a hot, thermoplastic weatherproofing material, immersing the coated material in water to harden the compound thereon, compactin the compound upon the material while the compourfd is hardening in the water, and

polishing the compound upon the-material while the material is submerged in the water.

3. A method of weatherproofing material,

lass which consists in impregnating a material with one hot weatherproofing com und,

- coating the impregnating material with another-hot weathergil'loofing compound, and simultaneously coo compacting and polishing the latter compoun on' the material whileithe coated material issubmerged in water.

4. A method of weatherproofing insulating material upon conductors in strand form, which consists in conveyin an insulated conductor through a body 0 weatherproofin' the'insu ating material therewith, removing v .the excess compound, coating. the impregnated material with a molten compound of diiferent character, conveying the thus treated material into a body of water to solidify the compounds, and simultaneously compacting an polishing the com ounds-upon the material while the material is submerged in the water.

6. An apparatus for weatherproofing materials, which comprises'means for impregnatingmaterial with one compound, means for coating the impregnated material with another compound, a tank for containing water into which the treated material may be conveyed and a plurality of submerged rolls disposed in stag ered relation in the tank for compacting an polishing the compounds upon the material.

7. In an apparatus for material, means for treating a material with a molten weatherproofin compound, a cooling tank containin water into which the treated material may e conveyed to solidify the compound, a plurality of o posed rows of submerged staggered rolls in the tank for compacting and polishing the com und upon the material while immersed 1n the water, and spring means for yieldingly forcing the rolls into contact with material. 8. An apparatus for weatherproofing material, which comprises means for treating material with, a hot weatherproofing compound, means comprising a tank containing water in which the treated material may be submerged for hardening the compound upon the material, and a second means for compacting and polishing the compound upon the material while it is submerged.

prising a receptacle for coating material, a

9. An apparatus for coating strands, comweatherproofing I grooved roller having its lower. portion extending into the material in sa d receptacle, and a sheave mounted ad'acent theupper portion of said roller and vmg it periphery shaped to coact with the groove of the .79 roller to form a die for forming the coating material on the strand.

' 10. An apparatus for coating strands, comprising a receptacle for coating material, a roller havin its lower portion extending into 7; the materiaf in the receptacle and provided with a peri heral groove to receive the strand,

0. die mem r coasting with said groove at its upper portion to form the material-applied to the strand by the roller, andan adjustable? sheave for varyi g the arc of contact bea tween the strand and the roller, In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe ingy pame this second day-of November A. D., as

- RAY CHARLES KIVLEY.

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